Many people have written about waiting on God.

And honestly, I am a little tired of hearing about it. Umm, did I say that out loud? Before you click away from this page, let me explain.

We bemoan how difficult it is to wait on God and ask “How long O Lord?”  When we talk to people about our wait, we remind them how we shouldn’t get ahead of God and give examples like Sarai’s plan with Hagar to get a son. No, we mustn’t get ahead of God lest we get the same kind of result.

Yep – been there, done that.

But what if we changed our paradigm?

Could it be God is waiting on us to take our turn? Don’t get me wrong, there are times when we must “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him” (Ps. 37:7). However, we might get stuck in the waiting – a paralysis of analysis – if we are not truly listening to God.

Yes patience is a virtue, but stepping out in faith into what God has promised is too.  I think we often use “God has me waiting” as a way of not taking our turn. It can turn into the paralysis of analysis.

If you read my blog regularly, you know I never make claims without backing them up with scripture – so here we go. Get your Bible and go to Joshua 18. The book of Joshua is all about taking possession of the promised land. In chapter 18, we see seven tribes who had still not possessed their inheritance. 

This scripture leaped off the page and into my heart!

So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?” Joshua 18:3

Boom – there it is! HOW LONG? God was waiting on them to take their turn.

And I wonder if this happens to us  more often then we realize.If you feel like you are in the “waiting zone”, take a small step of faith toward the promises of God. In Joshua 18, their step of faith was to send three men from each tribe to go survey the land and write down a description of their inheritance. It was their turn!

I am not advocating that you pull a “Sarai” and suggest to your husband he have a baby with a handmaid because you are tired of waiting. That is foolishness. But what smaller steps of faith could Sarai had taken to express faith? Steps of faith are steps of faith – big or small – they get you closer to the promised land.

Here is the truth about God’s promises…

“Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” Joshua 21:45

BUT…the children of Israel had to “take possession” of the land and drive out any enemies that were in their way. Yep, they had to take their turn.

If God is giving us a turn to step  out on faith, why aren’t we taking it? Could it be the pain of failure? Well, truth is we might fail and it might be painful. But remember, it is not necessarily the result of taking our turn that pleases God – it is the act of faith.

Without faith it is impossible to please God…Hebrews 11:6

God does require us, at times, to take our turn. One of the themes of Joshua’s book is “be strong and courageous”. Yes, it takes strength and courage to step across the threshold of the promised land. Yes, it takes strength and courage to take our turn and attempt the impossible.

We will suffer pain either way. If we take our turn in faith, we experience pain from growth, change, and the fear of the unknown. However, the worse pain is that of inaction, not trying, and settling. Choose your pain friends.

When we do take our turn, God patiently and graciously meets us at the border.

God may be giving you a turn. Will you take it? Are you waiting on God or is He waiting on you?

Let this new year be the year you take possession of all God has for you!